Thursday, January 17, 2019

5 Takeaways from Charles Duhigg's Book 'Power Of Habit'

I read this book with the hopes of curbing my bad habits. Those being watching and masturbating to porn, consuming more than creating, and eating saturated fats which I know are bad for my heart.

I felt that the 'Power of Habit' could've been summed up much quicker. It was padded with the stories and case studies.

Here are 5 takeaways.

Page 20. 'When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit-unless you find new routines-the pattern will unfold automatically.'

Page 73. 'The old cues and cravings for rewards were still there, waiting to pounce. The alcoholics only permanently changed once they learned new routines that drew on old triggers and provided a familiar relief.'

Page 160. 'But sometimes, even destructive habits can be transformed by leaders who know how to seize the right opportunities. Sometimes, in the heat of a crisis, the right habits emerge.'

I scribbled a note underneath this paragraph saying, 'Solutions in the problems. Problems are good.'

Page 220. 'In general, sociologists say, most of us have friends who are like us. We might have a few close acquaintances who are richer, a few who are poorer, and a few of different races-but, on the whole, our deepest relationships tend to be with people who look like us, earn about the same amount of money, and come from similar backgrounds.'

Page 78. 'If you identify the cues and rewards, you can change the routine. At least, most of the time. For some habits, however, there's one other ingredient that's necessary: belief.'

I came to this book looking for answers. I learned about tools which can help me with my patterns, which I easily fall into. I feel that if I apply what I've learned here, I can make a positive change in my life and stop feeling guilty when I'm indulging my bad habits.

You can purchase Mr. Duhigg's book here through this affiliate link https://amzn.to/2LcE55U . It will support both myself and the author. Thanks!